A meta-regression analysis of the economic value of grassland ecosystem services in China

Abstract

Grasslands provide a variety of ecosystem services (ESs) that contribute to human beings. However, most grassland ESs are public goods with no market value and consequently ignored in private land use decisions. Thus, it is important for grassland conservation to consider the potential economic value of grassland ESs in policymaking. We tried to provide a comprehensive evaluation of the economic value of grassland ESs and the influential factors via a meta-regression analysis with 745 observations from 69 studies. The results showed that the total economic value of grasslands in China was 10,876 yuan/ha in constant year 2015, and also revealed large variations in the reported economic values of grassland ESs. Soil fertility (1,899 yuan/ha/yr) and erosion control (1,492 yuan/ha/yr) were the two most valuable services. Further, factors such as valuation methods, research characteristics and study site characteristics all affected the estimates of grassland values. The market price method was most likely to provide higher grassland ES values among all the methods. Lastly, the economic value of grassland ESs showed geographical differences, with eastern China higher than western China. These findings contributed to the literature evaluating the economic value of grassland ESs regarding discrepancies in economic values, thus helping to inform grassland management. Further, these findings are helpful for better accounting for the services provided by grassland ecosystems, which can significantly facilitate land use decision making for sustainable ecosystem management.

Keywords

• Ecosystem functions
• Grassland
• Meta-analysis
• Monetary value
• Systematic literature review